Scotland's local authority spending watchdog is to press ahead with its revised performance assessment regime after a majority of councils backed the changes.

Audit Scotland will now draw up detailed proposals on how the new programme - the latest phase of the Best Value audit system - will operate.

It will include performance judgements that will focus on 'direction and pace of change' and 'capacity for future improvement'.

In a paper assessing the results of the consultation on the changes. Audit Scotland said the responses broadly supported the proposals, with 57% 'for' and 11% 'against'. Twenty-one per cent neither agreed nor disagreed. There is likely to be a grading system in which 'pace' and 'direction of travel' will range from 'improving strongly' to 'not improving adequately'.

Judgements on a council's prospects for improvement will range from 'strongly placed' to 'poorly placed'.

Three options were put forward for reporting performance. …